The Empress pointed at Aunt Sun and demanded furiously, “Were you acting on Princess Shengping’s orders?”
There was no light left in Aunt Sun’s eyes, as though her very life had been taken from her. Yet she answered firmly, “I couldn’t stand Noble Consort Cui receiving His Majesty’s exclusive favor, nor could I stand Princess Fuxi constantly suppressing my mistress! I did everything myself! This has nothing to do with Princess Shengping!”
The Empress froze, clearly not expecting such fierce loyalty from a servant. She glanced at the Emperor and hesitated, saying nothing more.
From his seat above them, the Emperor swept a sharp gaze over everyone and ordered, “Lock Princess Shengping in Qiuling Palace for interrogation. The rest are to be taken to the Court of Judicial Review and questioned rigorously!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Soon, the fiercely loyal Aunt Sun and Little Monkey were dragged away.
Princess Shengping was also seized and forcibly taken away.
She turned toward the Emperor and cried, “Father! Yuer hasn’t done anything! Why are you imprisoning Yuer? It was Aunt Sun and Little Monkey! Yuer knew nothing about it! You can’t treat Yuer like this, Father! Weren’t you the one who loved Yuer most? Father…”
Even after she had been dragged a great distance away, her sobs and cries could still be heard.
Yet the Emperor did not relent and spare Princess Shengping.
Thus, only the Emperor and the Empress remained in the hall.
The Empress knelt once more. “This consort is guilty. I failed to raise my daughter properly, failed to discipline Shengping, and failed to restrain the servants. I beg Your Majesty to punish me.”
The Emperor lowered his eyes to look at her. “Shengping was raised by you and lived in Fengyi Palace. Are you truly saying the Empress knew nothing of this? You noticed nothing at all?”
The Empress lowered her head even further. “I am the Empress of the Central Palace. Had I learned in advance that the princess had committed such a foolish act, I would have informed Your Majesty immediately. How could I have allowed her to continue down the wrong path, nearly bringing smallpox into the imperial palace?”
“If Your Majesty does not believe me, I am willing to die to atone for my crime!”
The hall fell silent for a long while before the Emperor finally spoke.
“Empress, you may withdraw.”
The Empress’s face brightened. “Thank you—”
Before she could finish, the Emperor spoke again in a cold voice, calm and as icy as water, leaving no room for argument. “Contaminated items carrying smallpox were found in Fengyi Palace. The palace will be sealed for ten days. During that time, no one may leave, including the Empress.”
The Empress clenched her hands and pressed them against the floor. “This consort obeys.”
…
The next day, in the imperial palace.
The palace maids and eunuchs from the various residences were either busy or idle, and many had gathered together to discuss what had happened the previous night.
Even the noble consorts had sent people to inquire about the commotion. What exactly had happened in the palace last night? Why had it caused such a disturbance?
Only after asking around did they learn that Fengyi Palace had been sealed. The Emperor had personally issued the order and sent people to guard its gates.
They had thought the sealing of Fengyi Palace was already a grave matter, but after making further inquiries, they discovered that Princess Shengping had also been confined and imprisoned.
The events of the previous night had alarmed many people. By piecing together the fragments of information, everyone soon reconstructed the truth.
It turned out that servants from Princess Shengping’s household had brought an object contaminated with smallpox into the imperial palace and intended to secretly place it in Noble Consort Cui’s residence.
The culprits had been caught on the spot. They were the most loyal servants at Princess Shengping’s side.
The Emperor had been furious and reprimanded Princess Shengping. He had interrogated her that very night.
Princess Shengping, however, refused to admit anything. She insisted that she knew nothing and that all those wicked deeds had been committed by evil servants.
The Emperor did not believe that Princess Shengping had been completely unaware. He had her imprisoned and ordered her to be interrogated.
With Princess Shengping imprisoned, the Empress had also been implicated. Everyone in Fengyi Palace, from the masters to the servants, was forbidden to take even one step outside without the Emperor’s permission.
Everyone gossiped about Fengyi Palace, the Empress, and Princess Shengping.
Naturally, there were also those who said that Consort Cui had been blessed by Heaven and had narrowly escaped disaster.
If Noble Consort Cui had truly touched the cloth carrying smallpox, then not only would her life have been in danger, but Princess Fuxi and the Seventh Prince might not have escaped either.
That day, a great many things were burned throughout the imperial palace.
Most of them belonged to people who had visited Fengyi Palace or Changle Palace. Fearing that they might have been contaminated with smallpox, they burned the clothes they had previously worn.
Everyone in Changle Palace also bathed and changed clothes that same day, terrified that they might have come into contact with something contaminated.
This was what Physician Chu Mingyi had advised: thorough cleansing could wash away the filth.
Everyone feared contracting smallpox, so no one dared disobey.
Four or five days passed.
The Emperor still had not released Princess Shengping from confinement.
Naturally, Princess Shengping had never admitted that she was responsible. She continued to insist that she had been deceived by wicked servants and knew nothing at all about the smallpox.
Aunt Sun endured torture but remained fiercely loyal, never exposing Princess Shengping.
Little Monkey, however, could not hold out. He confessed that everything he had done had been ordered by Princess Shengping.
“It was the princess! The princess ordered this servant to place the item in Changle Palace. It was the princess who instructed me! Aunt Sun first obtained the cloth carrying smallpox from Yang Si of Xiaoyang Village. She sealed it so tightly that no air could get in. On the day we received it, she ordered me to climb over the wall of Changle Palace that night and place it beneath the westernmost water jar. She said someone would come to retrieve it.”
“I’m only a servant. How could I disobey the princess’s orders…”
After Little Monkey confessed, Princess Shengping, who had insisted all along that she knew nothing, changed her story as well.
“…Aunt Sun said Consort Cui was a wicked person, that she had harmed Mother Consort, and that she deserved to be punished. Yuer knew Aunt Sun wanted to use the cloth to avenge Mother Consort and teach Consort Cui a lesson, but Yuer didn’t know it carried smallpox. Yuer didn’t know smallpox could kill people.”
“Father, Yuer was wrong. Yuer will never dare do it again. Father, please don’t abandon Yuer. Please don’t leave Yuer hungry.”
“Yuer truly never meant to kill Consort Cui or Eldest Sister. If Yuer had known beforehand that Aunt Sun wanted to kill Consort Cui and Eldest Sister, Yuer would definitely have told Father… Father, have you truly abandoned your daughter?”
Dantai Ji looked at his daughter, who was kneeling before him and weeping bitterly. A trace of reluctance appeared in his eyes.
“Was this truly all that servant’s idea?”
Princess Shengping nodded vigorously. “Yuer truly didn’t know! Why doesn’t Father believe me? Why do you only believe Consort Cui and Eldest Sister, and refuse to believe me? Yuer is Father’s daughter too. Father used to love Yuer the most.”
Dantai Ji’s eyes darkened. He turned his back to her.
“Stay here and reflect for a few more days.”
With that, Dantai Ji left without looking back.
The moment Dantai Ji returned to the Wenyuan Pavilion, he saw the furious Empress Dowager storm in.
“Your Majesty! It has already been eight days! How much longer do you intend to keep Shengping imprisoned? You are the Emperor, but you are also her father. She is only seven years old—what could she possibly understand? She was merely incited by those servants. Even if she truly did something wrong, we should teach her properly, not treat her as you are doing now!”
“Shengping made a mistake, but you have already confined a child for eight days. That punishment is enough!”
Dantai Ji said, “Mother! That was smallpox! Smallpox that can take a person’s life! If Consort Cui had truly touched that object, no one in Changle Palace would have escaped! Not only Consort Cui—even Yaoyao and Lin’er might have… It could have endangered the entire imperial palace!”
“But she is your child, Your Majesty! She is this old woman’s granddaughter and a princess of Great Zhou!”
